Coastal Carolina-Bryant Matchup Preview

Bryant (2-0) at No. 1/2 Coastal Carolina (3-0)

When: 6 p.m. Saturday

Where: Brooks Stadium, Conway

TV: None

Online: www.bigsouthsports.com/live/11290

Radio: WSEA-FM 100.3

Weather Forecast: 76 degrees with a 50 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms

Series History: First meeting

Chanticleers Breakdown

Coastal Carolina ranks 15th in the FCS in scoring at 37.7 points per game and 18th in total offense with 447.7 yards per game, but the Chanticleers have not been nearly as steady on the defensive side.

The Chants have allowed two of their first three opponents to pile up more than 500 yards of offense and they rank 81st nationally in that category, giving up an average of 435 yards per game.

Last week, Western Illinois took the lead four times against the Chants in a strong upset bid. They’ll need to cut down on the mental errors and mistakes defensively before it does cost them a game.

Senior quarterback Alex Ross played through a sprained ankle last week and says he’s good to go for Saturday, while senior defensive end Calvin Hollenhorst is considered doubtful with elbow and shoulder injuries.

Bulldogs Breakdown

Bryant moved up from Division II to join the FCS in 2008 and coach Marty Fine has led the Bulldogs to four winning seasons since then, including an 8-3 finish in 2014.

The Bulldogs were picked as preseason favorites in the Northeast Conference and have opened the season with a 27-3 win over Division II American International and a 20-16 win over Brown.

They lead the FCS in turnover margin, having forced six and committed zero through two games, and they rank third in scoring defense at 9.5 points allowed per game.

Bryant forced five turnovers – including four inside its own 10-yard line – last week in its win over Brown.

Key Matchup

Coastal Carolina quarterback Alex Ross vs. Bryant’s secondary: While Bryant has impressive overall numbers defensively, the Bulldogs did allow Brown to pass for 403 yards last week. The challenge only gets tougher Saturday night against Ross and his deep stable of receivers. The senior standout has passed for 676 yards, five touchdowns and one interception through three games.

Spotlight Players

Coastal Carolina running back De’Angelo Henderson: One of the most entertaining players in the FCS, Henderson ranks second nationally in rushing (396 yards) and all-purpose yards (609).

Coastal Carolina wide receiver Bruce Mapp: The Chants’ top receiver has been uncharacteristically quiet after catching seven passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns in the opener. He has just three catches for 18 yards the last two weeks, but expect that to change Saturday.

Coastal Carolina kick returner Devin Brown: It will be interesting to see if Bryant tests Brown, who has two kickoff returns for touchdown already this season and has five for his career – one away from matching the FCS record.

Bryant wide receiver Chad Ward: The senior caught eight passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns last week against Brown. He’ll certainly have the Chants’ full attention.

Bryant quarterback Dalton Easton: The junior has passed for 431 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions so far this fall.

Bryant linebacker Ryan Ferguson: The Bulldogs’ top defensive playmaker has a team-high 16 total tackles and three tackles for loss through two games.

Scouting Reports

CCU offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude: “I’ve known those guys for a long time. They’re really well coached, really prepared. They know how to win, they scrap. ... They’ve gone on the road and beaten Stony Brook, they beat Maine and they gave Liberty a good run last year, so we’re preparing just like any other week. There’s some different things that they do that we don’t see a whole lot of, so some of those things front-wise, coverage-wise we have to tweak some of the things we’re doing to get prepared for it. But I expect if we come out and execute and handle our business, I think we should be fine.

CCU defensive coordinator Clayton Carlin: “[They’re] very well coached, very talented. They play big boy football, downhill, [like] Furman – stuff we haven’t done very well against. So it’s going to take everything we have and then some.”

Notes

▪ Coastal Carolina is expecting another near-capacity crowd Saturday night after drawing a Brooks Stadium-record 10,311 fans last weekend.

As of Friday afternoon, there were still a small number of standing-room-only tickets available for purchase online or at the stadium starting at 2 p.m.

About 1,500 students had claimed tickets as of Friday.

▪ Former Chanticleer standout Quinn Backus will be honored Saturday night as the school presents him with his 2014-15 Big South Male Athlete of the Year award.

Backus was also named the Big South’s Defensive Player of the Year the last three seasons.

“He set a standard for us in terms of linebacker play and defensive play and leadership that the other guys recognize and need to be able to live up to,” Chants head coach Joe Moglia said this week. “We’re not asking other guys to be Quinn, but Quinn has set the standard and that has a positive impact on our guys. And he comes around quite a bit and the guys are always happy to see him.”

▪ Senior nickel Datarius Allen is expected to play Saturday after missing two games with an ankle injury. He and junior C.J. Thompson should share time there, boosting the Chants depth at the position after losing two reserves to knee injuries.

▪ A television crew from 60 Minutes Sports has been following the team this week and will be at the game Saturday night working on a piece about Moglia that will air on Showtime.

By The Numbers

1: This is the first time Bryant has played a top-10 ranked FCS team. The Bulldogs’ previous highest ranked opponent was No. 17 Massachusetts in 2008.

6: Coastal Carolina’s six former players currently on NFL active rosters is the third-highest total among FCS programs behind Montana (8) and Delaware (7).

16: The Chants have won 16-straight regular-season FCS non-conference games dating back to 2013.

17: De’Angelo Henderson has scored a rushing touchdown in 17 straight games, one shy of matching the Big South record. The FCS record for consecutive games scoring a touchdown in 20.

27-1: Coastal Carolina is 27-1 under coach Joe Moglia in games in which it rushes for at least 200 yards.

29-2: The Chants are 29-2 over their last 31 regular-season games against FCS opponents.

Prediction

Coastal Carolina, 34-21: Bryant needed five defensive turnovers to hold off Brown last week and it’s unlikely they get that much help from the Chanticleers.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Coastal Carolina-Bryant Matchup Preview."